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Basic Artillery Guide
This basic artillery guide aims to enhance the knowledge of players about some of the most basic and fundamental skills and knowledge needed to operate an artillery or SPG (and sometimes also known as 'arty') in World of Tanks. Characteristics of Artillery Artillery in World of Tanks is generally considered as having high damage potential, slow reloading speed, slow acceleration, slow rotation speed, low armor and low health. The artillery usually carries a much more powerful gun than other tank classes within its tier. Artillery is expected usually to carry out supporting roles within a battle. As due to its obvious lack of ability to engage in 'brawl' tactics and strategies, artillery is generally expected to hide in areas where detection by enemies is minimal. Within a battle, artillery is highly regarded by fellow team members as perhaps the single most valuable asset to the team. This is due to its ability to damage enemy tanks that are perhaps extremely difficult to destroy by fellow teammates. Indeed, within a battle, there is a high expectation for artillery players to target the most powerful enemy tank as priority. Artillery are also often targetted by fast, lightly armoured tanks (mainly light tanks) early in the game. It isn't uncommon to see a light tank go racing up the very edge of the map to kill the enemy artillery. It is important to defend your team's artillery. Differences of Artillery to Other Tanks Artillery in World of Tanks is usually regarded as a completely separate class of tank from the other classes of tanks (light, medium, heavy, tank destroyer). Hence, its play style varies greatly from that of other tank classes and the expectations on an artillery player is quite different from that of other tank classes. The following is a general list of the most basic of differeences and peculiarities of the artillery in World of Tanks: *An artillery's main purpose is to provide supporting fire to other tank classes within any battle, whereas no other tank class is as suitable for this task than the artillery. Furthermore, artillery players are highly expected to eliminate the most powerful of foes from the battlefield as soon as possible as a rule-of-thumb. Whereas this responsibility usually will not fall as default on any other tank classes. *An artillery's projectile path is thatof an arc instead of a straight line that is the case with all other tank classes. This unique quality allows the artillery's shots to bypass obstacles that would otherwise not be possible to shoot through with a straight line projectile path. This means that an artillery may be able to target and shoot at an enemy behind cover when no other tanks can hit that enemy. *Due to the very long aiming time, reloading time and high damage of shots that symbolises the artillery. It is imperative for artillery players to take long periods of time aiming at an enemy. Aiming and waiting for the targetting sights to reach its smallest radius is one of the most important priorities of an artillery player, as if the shot misses, then a valuable opportunity to deal massive amounts of damage would be lost. Hence artillery players usually have the mindset of 'making every shot count'. This is usually not the case with all other tank classes, as due to their significantly better reloading speed and aiming time, mistakes made might not cost the team so dearly. *Depending on the range of the artillery piece being played by the player. It is a general rule that artillery should be as far away from the front line as possible while still be in range to hit enemy targets. No other tank class carries this rule as due to their much worse accuracy-distance ratio, they cannot afford to be too far away from the enemy. *Priorities of artillery players vary significantly to that of other tank class players. Artillery players will never be expected to scout or attack by default. Rather, they are expected to offer support and perhaps defensive roles if the situation requires it. *An artillery player enjoys the benefit of using the 'bird's eye' view when the shift button (by default) is pressed. This quite literally allows the artillery player to see froma bird's eye view and hence see and hit targets behind obstacles. This is uniquely different to all other tank classes, which does not possess this 'bird's eye' view from above. Basic Expectations As an artillery piece, the team will usually value the artillery more so than any other tank class in the battle due to the artillery's unique qualities. This, in turn, means that certain expectations from the team are formed on the performance of an artillery piece: *An artillery is the main support of a team. Hence, the artillery player is expected to support the team. The definition of this support varies greatly depending on the situation. Offering increased firepower to an offensive, offering elimination of key enemy targets, offering the elimination of enemy artillery are all valid support roles. The viability of these support roles will vary depending on the circumstances of the battle. *An artillery piece is expected by the team to stay out of sight from the enemy. The team will not look favourably upon having to move themselves from entrenched positions in order to prevent the destruction of a spotted artillery. Hence, before opening fire or in the middle of a fire fight, always ensure the enemy team has not spotted your artillery. *An artillery is sometimes the key element in turning the tides ina stalemate. This stalemate situation can often be created by tanks on both sides becoming stationary in order to hold defensive positions, this scenario may also be known as 'camping'. In this case, an artillery is highly expected to diminish the defensive power of the opposing team by eliminating or damaging key targets in order for the friendly team to gain the upper hand and increase the chances of breaking the stalemate and claiming victory in the battle. *An artillery piece is expected not to participate in direct combat. The role of direct combat is the forte of other tank classes and not that of the artillery by default. Direct combat by artillery (otherwise known as 'assault artillery') is only expected when there is no other option left for the artillery player in order to survive or prevent the defeat of the team. As a general rule, direct combat by artillery is only expected froman artillery player in situations of self-defence and that of a last resort. *An artillery player is expected to make full potential of thier massive firepower. This usually entails specific knowledge of weak spots on enemy tanks and targetting those weak spots. It also requires the artillery player to try and always have the best possible accuracy before firing every shot in order to best guarantee a hit on the enemy. *An artillery player is not expected to perform leadership roles. Support being the strong point of an artillery, it is in no position to give orders to other tank classes. However, in situations in which there is no longer a tank class left to best perform a leadership role, an artillery player may perform a co-ordination role, and organise the best course of action for the (usually) remaining light tank and tank destroyer class. *An artillery is not expected to take damage throughout the duration of the battle. This is due to its comparatively weak armor and health with other tank classes of its tier. Usually when an artillery takes damage, it will be the death blow to the artillery. Conclusion Artillery is the most suitable tank class in World of Tanks to offer support based roles on the battlefield. It is also considered the most valuable tank class within a team. The artillery is a very fragile tank class which cannot withstand much punishment from enemy fire, hence keeping away from enemy tanks and keeping the artillery hidden is one of the most fundamentally important things to do when playing as an artillery. Credits Original Author: Ding760 Following Editors: Autophob aka Jesco Category:Role-specific Strategies